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Bulgarians are heading to the polls on Sunday for the eighth time in five years, hoping to finally elect a parliament able to resolve the longtime political impasse that has gripped this Balkan country. The snap vote follows the resignation of a conservative-led government amid nationwide protests last December that drew hundreds of thousands, mainly young people, to the streets. The protesters called for an independent judiciary to tackle widespread corruption. Since 2021, the nation of 6.5 million has struggled with fragmented parliaments that produced weak governments, none of which managed to survive more than a year before being brought down by street protests or backroom deals in parliament. The revolving door of governments has fostered widespread public mistrust, voter apathy and a shrinking turnout in elections. Still, Sunday's vote is significant as it could bring to power a left-leaning, pro-Russian former president - just days after Hungarian voters rejected the ...
Europe has "maybe six weeks or so" of remaining jet fuel supplies, the head of the International Energy Agency said Thursday in a wide-ranging interview, warning of possible flight cancellations "soon" if oil supplies remain blocked by the Iran war. IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol painted a sobering picture of the global repercussions of what he called "the largest energy crisis we have ever faced," stemming from the pinch-off of oil, gas and other vital supplies through the Strait of Hormuz. "In the past there was a group called Dire Straits.' It's a dire strait now, and it is going to have major implications for the global economy. And the longer it goes, the worse it will be for the economic growth and inflation around the world," he told The Associated Press. The impact will be "higher petrol (gasoline) prices, higher gas prices, high electricity prices," said Birol, speaking in his Paris office looking out over the Eiffel Tower. Economic pain will be felt unevenly and "the
The European Union is planning an expansion of its Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and the move could increase carbon tax costs on Indian manufactured exports to Europe, think tank GTRI said on Thursday. It said that Indian exporters selling into Europe may need to accelerate emissions accounting, supply-chain traceability, and decarbonisation investments to remain competitive in one of the country's key export markets. In a draft report issued on April 10, 2026, the European Parliament's Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety (ENVI) proposed five major changes to the CBAM regime. The changes include extending CBAM to around 180 additional steel- and aluminium-based manufactured products from January 1, 2028; and tightening carbon accounting rules for scrap-based production by including emissions from pre-consumer scrap, the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said. It also includes examining expansion of the mechanism to indirect emissions from ...
European leaders heaped praise on Peter Magyar after his stunning election victory in Hungary, not just for what the vibrant campaigner and the country's next premier might do but who he is not - long-serving Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who many saw as a direct threat to the continent's peace and prosperity. The outpouring reflected a deep frustration with Orban across the 27-nation European Union and its institutions. "Today Europe wins and European values win," said Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in a post on X on Sunday night. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk exclaimed on social media: "Back together! Glorious victory, dear friends!" Orban's 16-year grip on power has tested the EU system of governance meant to ensure peace through economic and political integration after the ravages of the world wars. Claiming he sought to advance Hungarian's national interests over strategy forged in Brussels, Orban time and again vetoed collective action such as support for Ukraine ...
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri will undertake a three-day visit to Paris and Berlin beginning Sunday for high-level talks on energy, trade and defence -- sectors that have become increasingly critical amid a fractured geopolitical landscape. Misri's visit to France and Germany comes at the end of his trip to the US, where he met Secretary of State Marco Rubio and a number of other senior officials of the Trump administration. The West Asia crisis and its impact on energy security are expected to figure prominently in Misri's talks with the interlocutors in Paris and Berlin. In Paris, the foreign secretary will co-chair the India-France Foreign Office Consultations along with Martin Briens, the secretary general of the French Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement on Saturday. Both Misri and Briens will discuss a wide range of issues, including defence, civil nuclear energy, space, cyber and digital, artificial intelligence and initiatives ...
Two days before Hungary's closely-watched elections, over 100,000 people filled a sprawling square and adjacent avenues in the capital for a concert featuring dozens of the country's most popular performers a call to action for citizens to cast their ballots on Sunday and vote out the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban. More than 50 bands, all performers who have used their music to express dissent against Orban's nationalist-populist government, played one song each during the seven-hour, "system-breaking" concert on Friday. The crowd, largely made up of young people, frequently broke into anti-government chants, including "Ruszkik haza!" or "Russians go home!" It was a refrain from Hungary's 1956 anti-Soviet revolution that has taken on renewed significance as Orban has forged increasingly close relations with Moscow. One attendee, Helena Sugar, 19, said she was drawn to the event by some of her favourite artistes, but that the desire for change was the concert's most ...
When President Donald Trump returned to the White House last year, he was eager to pick up where he left off by strengthening ties with Europe's right wing. But now many of those same factions are expressing open revulsion at the Iran war, rupturing relationships that were supposed to usher in a new international order. Although Vice President JD Vance campaigned for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban this week, such a display has become the exception rather than the rule among conservatives and far-right leaders in Europe. Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni refused to let the United States use an air base in Sicily to launch attacks on Iran. France's National Rally leader Marine Le Pen described his war goals as "erratic." And the head of Germany's Alternative for Germany party called for American troops to leave their bases in the country. Even with a fragile ceasefire in place with Iran, Trump's support for Orban may not work out for the autocratic Hungarian leader, who fac
German growth forecasts for 2026 and 2027 were cut by experts on Wednesday as governments across Europe implement measures aimed at reducing the price impact of the Iran war. A group of five economic institutes predict German gross domestic product will expand by 0.6 per cent this year - less than half the 1.3 per cent they forecast in September - and by 0.9 per cent in 2027, down from 1.4 per cent. The economic outlook was below the government's own forecast, issued two months ago, of 1 per cent and 1.3 per cent growth, respectively. The Iran war has created an unwelcome new obstacle to growth across Europe. The annual inflation rate in the 21-nation euro area sped up to 2.5 per cent in March from 1.9 per cent the previous month. It was powered by a 4.9 per cent increase in energy prices as the war and the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz sent fuel costs higher. "This energy price shock is hitting a German economy in which a recovery set in last year after a several-year downturn,"
The European Union is expanding its powers to track, raid and deport migrants to "return hubs" in third countries in Africa and elsewhere, quietly adopting tactics of the Trump administration that have drawn public criticism across the 27-nation bloc. The EU continues to tighten migration policies after right-wing parties took power in some countries in 2024. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, from the centre-right European People's Party coalition, has said the new measures will prevent a repeat of the 2015 crisis caused by the civil war in Syria, when about one million people arrived to seek asylum. "We have learnt the lessons of the past. And today, we are better equipped," von der Leyen has said. The new policies, known as the Pact on Migration and Asylum, go into effect on June 12. Far-right parties in Europe have praised the deportation policies of US President Donald Trump and called for the EU to adopt a similar approach. Human rights groups warn that ...
Crowds of people protested Saturday against the war in Iran and President Donald Trump's actions, in "No Kings" rallies across the US and in Europe. Minnesota took center stage, in what organizers expected to be mass demonstrations involving millions of people. Thousands of people stood shoulder-to-shoulder on the Minnesota Capitol lawn and surrounding streets in St. Paul. Some held upside down US flags, historically a sign of distress. The event's headliner was Bruce Springsteen, who performed " Streets of Minneapolis," He wrote the song in response to the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents and in tribute to the thousands of Minnesotans who took to the streets over the winter to protest the Trump administration's aggressive immigration enforcement. Before he launched into the song, Springsteen lamented Good and Pretti's deaths but said people's continued pushback against US. Customs and Immigration Enforcement has given the rest of the country hope. "